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Band officially formed: May 1996 Original Members: Doug Dub - Guitar (May - Dec. 1996) Rich Craig - Drums Danielle Muskatell - Vocals (May - Sept. 1996) Clint - Keyboards (Dec. 1996 - Mar. 1997) Dave Dauberman - Bass Big R - Guitar Releases: NONE Soundbytes: Jan. 1997 - Excerpt from Cocaine Feb. 1997 - Excerpt from Blue Jean Blues History: The Tone was actually a merger of two separate musical projects. I was playing in a less than spectacular rock band during the spring of 1996 when I met Doug Dub. I heard Doug jamming at the Army Band hall and had to check him out. We talked guitars for hours, and our musical goals were very similar. We wanted to put something together that would kick some serious ass. I got irked at my current band leader for firing Dave right before our debut gig. I decided right then and there that I needed to take the most talented souls, Rich Craig, Dave and myself, and bail out of that mess. Dave totally KILLS as a bass player, and was one of the serious assets of the group.  |
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Doug was playing with Danielle Muskatell as a jazz duo in some of the biggest jazz clubs in Seoul. He approached Danielle with the idea for doing the band, and she jumped on board. She has a voice that can rock the house, and Danielle can run the stage like nobody's business. The line-up was almost set. We kind of had to goad Rich in to signing on, he was being politically correct with the old band leader by staying with him. We were using another drummer, but he turned out to be notoriuously unreliable. Rich jumped in at the last minute and saved the day. The Tone was born!  |
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We started out playing some of the local clubs. JR Blue, Just Blues, and B4 to name a few. It was a very fast start. Before we knew it, we were gigging two to three nights a week. We got lucky and were hired to play a spring party in the mountains on the outskirts of Seoul. Our audience was mainly American, British and Canadian English teachers. They were some of the main club goers in Seoul, and after seeing us play there, became some of our best fans.  |
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Our set list consisted of a LOT of blues, some jazz standards, and some classic and new rock. We tried everything from Janis Joplin to Live. We worked hard, and the effort was worth it. By the time the band was really rolling, Danielle decided to move back to the U.S. We were bummed, but we knew that the band had to carry on. Fortune was with us though. We had just lost our regular gig at JR Blue when Danielle left.  By sheer coincidence, I was hanging out at Just Blues when an owner of a new club, The Western, walked in. He was talking to the owners. He wanted and American Blues band to play at his club across town. Chai (co-owner of Just Blues) introduced me to the man. I called my interpreter, and by the time the night was over, we had ourselves set up with playing six nights a week!  |
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When we started playing at the Western, we brought in the whole compliment of amps. They had drums there (thank goodness). The owner neglected to tell us that the bar was in the bottom of an apartment building, and it was not zoned for that kind of LOUD music. The Korean Secret Police were there for three days straight hawking us. The owner about shut us down. But, this gig was too good to pass up. With some quick talking, I convinced him that we could play quiet. We ran our gear through the PA, and used brushes on the drums. The Secret Police stayed away after that. We made good money, and the bar comped us food and drinks (try to find that here in the States these days). We played there for two months and made a killing. We considered this paid practice. This was the best thing ever for the band. We could play what we wanted, for how ever long we wanted. We could hear ourselves over the instruments, so we could arrange and work on tunes while we jammed. By the time the gig was up, our band was TIGHT! Eighteen hours of jamming a week will do that for you.  |
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Because we couldn't play quiet forever, we decided to do a couple of shows at Rock Me Amadeus. A club around the corner from the Western. We could turn it up and really jam. It was real sweet, we sounded better than ever, and we were ready to move on. Just as the Western gig was ending, we lined up some gigs across town in Wonju (were we lucky or what). Our friends opened a club there, and wanted us to play some shows. We did a couple of shows which turned out to be some of our best performances ever. Dave secured us some serious gigs at the Woodstock, a new bar opening up across the street from Just Blues in the heart of Itaewon. It was GREAT! Gigging two to three nights a week ten minutes from home.  |
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Doug wound up heading for Alaska in December of 1996. The Tone kind of morphed into the "Frank Rizzo Power trio from Chicago". We hired "Austin" Jim Ford on harp for some gigs, and Clint on Keyboards. Clint stayed on until the band disbanded in March of 1997. I would meet Jim Ford again.  |
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In retrospect I really don't know what I was trying to prove with this band. But we put a band together that kicked ass and was tight and tuned like a mother. We really had a following, and it was a wonderful and experimental time for me as a guitar player, that is for sure. It gave me the experience and mindset I needed when I moved to the home of some of the baddest guitar players to walk the planet, South Texas. Where are they now? Danielle is married and is a mommy! She lives in the Bay Area of Northern California. Dave is still in Korea playing his ass off with a new band. He has been doing some video shoots and recording work over there as well. Rich is working at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. Doug is in Germany now working for the Civil Service. Jim Ford is now retired and living in Texas. Clint is still in the Army recording and playing those keys all over the place. Clint also suggested a Tone reunion. Hmmmmm . . . . |